funk guitar

[iwantdigimon]

Hello,

seem to have some problems with my muting technique, anyone knows how to improve on this? been trying this for quite a bit and I can't seem to get the right percussive-ness and mood.

 

[bigtokes2003]

Are you using your right hand or let hand to mute? i find using a combination of both helps. muting with the left hand (or fretting hand) involves not pressing down the chord but still retaining hand contact with the strings just enuff to stop it from ringing unnecessarily. check out youtube, there's a couple of lessons there that touch on this. hope that helps.

 

[Breen]

what ^^^^ said.

Funk's big on muting and getting them good for both your hands is important. Play some exercises first, like play a 3 note barre on the top 3 strings, get your feet stomping evenly and rather slowly first, say 60bpm, and start getting a 4 to the bar thing going. When you get better, do the 3rd hit kinda like a James Brown-Jimmy Nolan thing. Then do more of everything else that is funkay~

Do them in single lines too. Like play a cool bassline but on the guitar, or do it an octave up naturally on the guitar, i.e in the middle of your fretboard.

The left hand is real important for muting in country, blues, jazz, funk, rhythm, and usually overlooked by new guys. It's not just the only right and it's chugga chugga conventional muting~

 

[Whitestrat]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Agreed. For me, playing funk guitar is all about the left hand. the right hand generates the constant picking rhythm, but the left hand is what controls what comes out.

 

[Breen]

Absolutely with ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^.

Tomo Fujita is a dude you can youtube. He has a ninja right hand. All shiruken like. But notice his left hand and what he is doing. Pretty much the standard in muting.

 

[Breen]

After suggesting Tomo, I went to check him out myself. He has many stuff now on the tube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6EeUi9evpw&feature=related

Notice his right hand may not be muting but his left is.

Oh my thats what I call a musician man.

 

[iwantdigimon]

thanks guys! I've always been doing the mutin with my right hand so that's where I've gone off! Anyways I can do fine with the bass rhytmn, but im stuck with the fills. Guess I need more time especially where it comes to string skipping. Like Can't Stop by the chilli peppers